How will my course grade be determined?Taking a course is like filling a cup. In this class, demonstrating historical understanding and skill development gets you points. Points fill the cup. Your grade will be determined by the number of points you are able to collect during a given term. The more learning you demonstrate, the fuller the cup and the higher the grade. Approximately 60% of the assignments will focus on historical understanding (content) while 40% of the assignments will focus on skill development.

Can I use feedback that I get on work to resubmit it so that I can demonstrate increased historical understanding and/or my skill development?Of course!! If you had just asked for more points, I'd have said no. But since you asked in this way, I'd be happy to work with you at any time to reassess any assignment and make sure that your new understanding or skill development is recorded as additional points in our grade book. (Notice the emphasis here is on your mastery and not just grabbing for points. Take this is a not-so-subtle hint about how I want you to approach revising your work.)

How can I monitor my progress during the term?Students (and parents) are encouraged to check our online grade-book at Aspen/X2. Parents can even set up email notifications about grades. Two words of caution about checking grades early in the term. 1. A usual term will see point values in the hundreds. Scoring low on a small 10 point assignment early in the term will drastically impact the term average on Aspen/X2 because it is early and it's the only assignment there. As the term progresses more assignments will mathematically balance things out. 2. Aspen/X2 displays the percentage of points per category as a running tally during the term. If the first assignment is content focused and you check Aspen/X2 right after that assignment is graded, it will say that 100% of our grade is based on just content. As soon as a skill assignment is added, it will update the overall percentage for that term. Again, by the end of the term, it will even out. The full picture is a work in progress just like filling a cup happens from the bottom up.

What do the abbreviations mean on Aspen/X2?TBG = To Be Graded (This means I've collected the assignment and I'm in the process of providing specific feedback.)TBC= To Be Collected (It's been assigned, and the assignment entered in to Apsen/X2, but I haven't collected it yet)MISS = It has been collected, but you have not handed it in yet. Maybe were you were absent, or maybe you forgot. You can still pass it in! You can pass it in until the end of the term. This does figure into your grade as 0 points, until you pass it in, just to motivate you to hand it in.

What are the grade categories on Aspen/X2?Content Understanding Skill DevelopmentClassroom citizenship

What is a Classroom Citizenship grade?This is a specific skill grade that is given in this course. Active participation in the course is encouraged and expected. This comes in the form of engaging in class activities and completing course work. At the start of each term, students are given a 50 out of 50 on their classroom citizenship grade. Should any late work penalties need to be assessed or lack of engagement need to be noted, it will be deducted from this grade-book item so as not to confuse the assessment feedback on other categories. The last thing I want us doing is thinking that you have a reading problem when in actually it is a late work problem.